Many visitors are content to while away most of the evening drinking kölsch (the famous local beer) in one or more of the city's many brewhouses (singular, brauhaus), which resemble something between a bierkeller (beer cellar) and a traditional British pub. Nightclubs and style bars are dispersed around the town. Look in the Altstadt around Buttermarkt and Salzgasse, or go a little further out to the Belgische Viertel, between Rudolfsplatz and Friesenplatz, where you will find the biggest concentration of fashionable places to drink and eat. Other good places are the Univiertel (University Quarter) around Barbarossa Platz and Zülpicher Platz.

Bars: Brauhaus Peters, Mühlengasse, is the most attractive brauhaus in Cologne, with six lovely rooms (the glass-domed art nouveau style is the most popular) serving good food and great beer. Or try Früh am Dom, a classic labyrinthine brauhaus at Am Hof 12-14, where sooner or later everyone ends up - it's always busy but still manages to provide excellent service and top quality food (try the Braühaustopf). Rosebud, Heinsbergstrasse 20, is a long-established cocktail bar and is still the place to see and be seen in Cologne - excellent jazz-inspired music and worth the detour. Last but not least, Stadtgarten, Venloer Strasse 40, is an excellent multi-function venue which serves as a concert hall (regular jazz, latin and other sounds), night club (Studio 672 - techno, reggae and dancehall), and cafe-restaurant. In summer it is also the most popular beer garden in town.

Clubs: Alter Wartesaal, 11 Johannisstrasse (website: www.wartesaal.de), in a former waiting room in the vaults beneath the central station (Hauptbahnhof) has been beautifully converted into a very popular club which hosts mostly house, soul and techno nights. See also Studio 672 Stadtgarten above.

Live Music: The largest multifunction hall in Germany, LANXESS arena, Willy Brandt Platz 1, has hosted the likes of Pavarotti, Eric Clapton, Elton John and Rod Stewart. Small pokey and always buzzing, Papa Joe's Jazzlokal, Buttermarkt 37 (website: www.papajoes.de), is one of the oldest jazz clubs in Germany with traditional and swing bands playing every night and Sunday afternoon. See also Stadtgarten above.